Three Years
by BloodyEeveeInIce
Summary: After three years, Sonic has found Shadow after being presumed dead. All things seem right, but of course, Shadow doesn't remember a thing. While Shadow's trying to recover his memory, Sonic also wishes Shadow would recover his feelings for him. When a new threat arises, the two must team up once again. Will they succeed like last time? Or will the world be lost? Sonadow!


**Sonic's POV**

I have to find him. I HAVE to.

This has been eating away at me ever since that fateful night. The night he slipped away from me.

How is it that you can fall in love so fast? Of course, everything I do is fast, so maybe that explains it.

Wait, no it doesn't. Love isn't like that. At least, I didn't think it was supposed to be.

But what would I know? I've never felt it before. Not until now.

Three years. _Three years. _

I thought he was dead. We all did. I tried to move on. But…something always spoke up in the back of my mind. And…I couldn't let myself. Something told me to keep waiting. Something said that if I did, it would pay off.

Well, whatever it was that was telling me that, it was right. He's alive, somewhere.

Now I just have to find him.

**Shadow's POV**

Breathing. That is all that I have had to focus on. I do not know for how long…but it seems like an eternity.

I cannot open my eyes…I made that mistake the last time I was imprisoned in suspended animation.

A life sustaining fluid surrounds me in this pod. Tubes protrude from my head, my wrists, and my chest. Sustaining my blood flow at a healthy pace and pumping oxygen into my brain and heart.

Only one thing has been on my mind.

Who put me in here? Someone has to keep my only forms of sustenance in stock. Oxygen tanks do not refill themselves. This fluid has to be changed and electricity has to pump this blood through my veins.

Only a few people on this earth would have the money, technology, knowledge, and power to sustain me like this. The money expended just for what I can sense is inside of and around me right now must be an extraordinary amount. Depending upon how long I have been in here and how long it took to get me here, this technology could not have been built in a day. Let alone the intelligence to develop the prototypes for this.

Someone must have found me in a bad state to have to resort to putting me here? My body must have been incapable of performing these basic functions…

I hope that is not the truth…if so…I may never be released from this prison…

**Sonic's POV**

If the information Rouge provided me with is correct (which it may very well not be), then he's…here. At this very base I stand in.

Now, I must be very careful, unless I wanna be caught by security.

Stealth has never been something I've cared to try, so this will prove to be quite a challenge. But it will all be worth it if I succeed.

I press my back against a wall when a few security robots saunter by. I suck in my stomach and hold my breath. I suppose that's what you're supposed to do, right?

I take this moment to look down the hallway. Cameras flood the ceiling. Lucky for me, I can easily breeze past them. But I only get one chance. Although outrunning security bots and lasers would be fun and a challenge, I really don't wanna make this any harder. Not this time. This mission is far too valuable to me to mess up.

I take notice that the robots have passed, and now the coast is clear, for the time being. I take a deep breath, and a second later I'm on the other end of the hallway. Good. Good start. I take a small sigh of relief. Looking down the new aisle I must cross, I see a line of robots covering a small gap. Heh. Too easy.

It's almost like fate is on my side, as I easily cross the gap by homing in on the robots, making a chain. Landing gracefully on my feet, I see a line of doors before me. Security doors. This is where things get tricky. Breaking these down will set off alarms, which means when I reach my destination, I'll only have a short time to speak with him. My love. I sigh. I guess it's a small sacrifice. I'll have plenty of time to be with him once he's set free. That's my goal here.

Curling up, I charge my spindash. Here goes nothing.

Feeling each door break under the force of my body, I roll gently into a small room. Curling out of my ball, my eyes fall on a capsule. A light gasp escapes me.

I can't believe Rouge wasn't lying.

He's…here…

Happiness floods through my mind, so much that I jump up right off the ground. Stepping forward, I press my hands on the glass as softly as possible. I stare for a moment. He's just as I remember. I smile, and feel myself tremble.

I can't stand the anticipation. I find a small red button, and press it. I take a few steps back as the capsule begins to make noises.

**Shadow's POV**

Peace and quiet. That is all I can ask for. I have resigned myself to thinking that maybe I will be better off in here. This machine keeps me from feeling the pain of my injuries. Or my death…if my injuries are indeed so serious that even this massively advanced technology cannot fix me.

In the back of my mind I hear a siren. Sirens…oh God no.

Not yet.

Suddenly I feel the fluid around my face disappear. It is being slowly drawn farther down my body, to my feet. Hydraulic locks loose the air they are retaining to attach themselves to me. They drop off and land around my feet.

Please…no.

I gasp for air. For the first time in a long time, I can move. My hand involuntarily clasps my chest, begging for my lungs to breathe. I realize that no oxygen remains in this pod. All of my life lines are gone.

It cannot end like this…

Abruptly the glass pod slides open, air floods the tank, and I am thrown out onto the cold metal floor.

My eyes flutter and attempt to open. A flash of blue appears in my vision. I stare at it…unable to speak.

**Sonic's POV**

Helping him up, I stare at him. He's extremely shaky, with good reason. I have no clue as to how long he's been in there. He seems frightened, and I hold his hand. I'm in disbelief. I'm probably shaking myself. I never thought I'd ever see him again.

"Shadow…" I say breathlessly.

**Shadow's POV**

I look at him. Confused.

Shadow?…

I turn around. No one is behind me.

"A-a-are you talking t-to," I choke and cough out the last word "me?.." I fall on my knees grasping my chest.

I growl, aggravated at my own weakness. His hands grab my shoulders in an attempt to help me up.

He has no right. I do not even know who he is! Why is he helping me and not explaining to me who the hell he is!?

I push him off of me, rather weakly, because it knocks me onto my back.

He stands above me with a sad look on his face. I growl darkly, digging my hands into the metal floor, scratching and chipping the solid metal.

"Who in the hell are you?!" I yell, and it echoes throughout the entire room. Sirens go off in the distance, slowly working their way into the intercoms of this room.

I turn on my side and spit up a few drops of green liquid.

**Sonic's POV**

I can't believe this. I find him, finally, after three years, and he doesn't…remember me.

"Shadow…it's me, Sonic!"

He growls lowly in the back of his throat. "I do not know that name! Nor do I know you!"

I take a step back. I think my heart hurts worse than it did before.

Sirens blare in my ears. I can't stay here. Robots will surely be on their way. And Eggman will be with them. What if he puts Shadow back in suspended animation? While I'm grateful he seems to have revived him, he hasn't treated him right, either. And Shadow's far too weak in this state to defend himself. I can't leave him here. I grit my teeth.

And I won't.

Running next to him, I scoop him up into my arms. I do feel a weak warmth stretch across my face due to the fact we're so close. But I can't pay that any mind right now. Shadow starts to squirm in my hold.

"Trust me, Shadow. When you get your memory back, you'll thank me for this later."

"Let me go!" he squirms in my arms again, "I can fight!" he growls lowly, and I know that he is just upset at his weakness.

I hang my head and sigh. "No, Shadow, you can't. We both know that. And stop squirming, will ya? You're just gonna hurt yourself."

He grabs both of my arms, tightly, in pain I drop him. He spills out onto the floor, and manages to stand, supporting himself on the wall. "I told you…I can…" he falls to the floor, eyes closed, lightly breathing and unconscious. I sigh and shake my head.

Oh, Shadow…

I approach him, and gently pull him up in my arms. Without thinking, I kiss his forehead. Turning around, I notice a giant wave of robots behind me.

Shit.

Holding Shadow close to me, I leap up into the air, plunging my feet into the line of robots, one by one. This certainly didn't turn out the way I had hoped. Since when did this become a rescue mission?

I take out a few more robot waves coming. Growling lightly, I make scrap metal out of them in moments. This would be much more difficult if Shadow was awake, I suppose. He'd probably be threatening to beat the crap out of me.

**Shadow's POV**

In my unconscious state, I regret not listening to him. I growl in the back of my mind. Now I have no control over what will happen to me, and at a pretty bad time in a less than favorable situation. I just hope that that blue hedgehog knows what he is doing…

**Sonic's POV**

I leap over a few holes in the flooring, making homing attack chains along the way, carefully. I'm paranoid about dropping Shadow, or falling, into the abyss below me. I'm not usually frightened when I'm in Eggman's bases, but I have a lot at stake here. If I can escape, I can find a safe haven of sorts, I can get a moment with Shadow and maybe try to get his memory to come to him. But my main priority here is to get us both out of here safe and sound.

I jump back when I hear a loud cracking noise. I start to tremble when I see three bullet holes in the wall where I was just standing. I sigh. I've had close calls numerous times before, but for some reason that one shook me up more so than usual.

_Get a hold of yourself, Sonic._

A small electrical box catches my eye. An idea comes to mind. I don't really know if Eggman is even here. If he was, he'd probably have shown his mug by now. Well then, I suppose he won't be too upset if I do some extra damage.

I grin, and a kick lands on the box. This place should blow in about twenty seconds. That's fine.

I only need about half of it.

I boost, and a wave of blue blurs my vision for a moment. But my eyes are very used to it, so it only lasts for about a second. I see a window approaching, and I leap into the air, holding Shadow as close as possible. I stick out my feet and break it, flying out into the winter night. My feet land in the snow, and I boost once again. The cold air seems to be stirring Shadow, and the loud explosion behind us makes him jump a little in my arms. Luckily, I'm already about a mile or two away. No damage will come to either of us. I smile. My mission was a success.

My gaze falls down to Shadow.

Almost.

**Shadow's POV**

I stir and my eyes flutter open, staring me in the face is the hedgehog that has saved me…Sonic? Looking around I see that we are safe, in a cave, a fire has been built in the very center and I must have been laying around it for a while because I barely feel the cold of the winter snow outside of our safe place.

He is sitting beside me on his knees. He looks away to the outside world briefly, then turns his attention to me.

"I know you don't remember me. But…I've missed you a lot, Shadow. I'm just glad you're okay, really. That you're even here."

I have no idea how he knows me or why he knows me so well as to care for me this much, but I don't have much choice but to appreciate it.

"Listen…Sonic? I appreciate everything you've done for me today, really I do, but I can't remember you or much of anything for that matter. I hope you can forgive me for being so insensitive…"

He waves a hand nonchalantly. "It's fine, really. I understand. But…you don't remember _anything? _That really must be a dilemma for you. Um, I know it's a little soon for explanations, but…do you want me to tell you anything? We did meet in the past, so I do know some things."

In my mind I think 'you don't say?' but I figure that would be rude to say to my savior.

"It definitely has it's downsides." I smile and scoff under my breath "Well, if you say that we really do know each other, maybe you could tell me a bit about yourself and it might bring back some memories." I look at him hopefully.

**Sonic's POV**

I smile, happy to know he's interested in trying to remember. "Well, there's quite a bit we're dealing with here…but, we've got the time." I know I can't tell him everything right away, I don't wanna overwhelm him.

"Well…I'm Sonic." I chuckle. "Sonic the Hedgehog. And this is the planet Mobius. I've been protecting it ever since I was, well, since I could run." I stick out my feet. "I have the ability to run at the speed of sound!" I laugh a little. "Awesome, right? Well, y'see, there's this guy named Dr. Eggman. He's the one that put ya in that pod. Now, I know, you're probably thinking that he must be a pretty nice guy for saving you. Well, hate to burst your bubble, but…he's not, really."

Shadow cocks his head to the side. "How so?"

"Well, he likes capturing animals and puttin' em' in robots. I for one, think that it's a pretty nasty thing to do. So I've been puttin' a stop to his tyranny for years. He never gives up, it seems."

"How old are you, Sonic?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm eighteen." I say, picking up a little bit of snow between my fingers, and I watch it melt.

He nods, and looks down. "…How old am I?"

I pause, thinking. "…Twenty."

He nods again.

"And…well, I live with my best friend Tails. You met him, too. He's a fox." I blush. "N-not like that. He's actually like, a fox. With two tails. He's a little genius though, I tell ya. Saved my ass tons of times." I smile. "I suppose I'll mention Rouge. Does the name ring a bell? Because you two seemed kinda close." I sneer, hoping he doesn't notice. "You were with her and Eggman most of the time."

"Eggman?" he asks. "Did you not just say he was evil?"

"Well, yeah." I say. "But…you were with him because he set you free the first time you were in suspended animation."

"That's one thing I _do _remember. I have been in it before."

"Well, hey! There's something, right? That's a good start."

"Yes, I suppose. Why was I in it the first time?"

I shrug. "Well, I don't know the whole story, but it had something to do with that you lived on the Space Colony ARK with some girl named Maria…"

**Shadow's POV**

"Maria…" it whispers through my mind with a sweet but painful tinge of memories. My vision turns to black and white and I see the face of a young girl…Maria? The flashback is quick, but tells me most everything about my past. The fun times all the way down to…the last time. We're running and panting, exhausting ourselves in one last hope of escape. We succeed, or so we think, blood splatters across my vision and I hear her last words.

"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog…" My vision is gone in a flash and I am left to stare Sonic in the eye.

I scream, loudly, my chest is pounding and my breathing is heavy.

"Maria…" I cry a tear for her. "What the hell was that?!" I growl and show my fangs. "Do not ever do that to me again!" I put my hands over my head trying to block out what I have just seen.

**Sonic's POV**

I stare at Shadow, who seems to be doubled-over in pain. It seems I may have triggered something, and he remembers. Part of me is hurt, that he yelled at me, but another is pleased that this is going somewhere. I rest one hand on his shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry about whatever just came to you, honest, Shadow…but it's good that you remember, right?"

He is breathing heavily and I can't tell whether he is just pissed off or recovering. "I guess…" he breathes through gritted teeth, but he seems to be coming out of it.

"Um…do you want me to continue…? Or would you rather me not?"

He shakes his head lightly, and attempts to rise. "Later. That's enough for a little while." He seems a little shaky. He must still not completely be in perfect health. I stand up with him, and offer him a hand, which he doesn't take. Of course.

He begins to make for the exit.

"Shadow…where are you going?"

"Away. I must have a home, right? I don't want to live in this cave for the rest of my life." he scoffs and continues out the door.

"Actually…you _don't _really…have a home…"

He stops and turns towards me.

I laugh nervously. "But…I don't want you living in this cave for the rest of your life either." I look down and towards the walls of the cave, hoping he doesn't notice my light blush. "Until you find somewhere…you can stay with Tails and me, if you'd like. I don't want you wandering around in the snow all night. Mobius gets very harsh winters."

I stand up and walk towards him. I don't even notice that I've grasped his hands.

"Besides, you don't very much about this world or yourself. It's dangerous to do this alone."

**Shadow's POV**

I look down at my hands. His hands are wrapped around mine, barely covering the middle lengths of my fingers. Looking at him I cock my head to the side. He blushes and drops his hands immediately.

"Oh…that's right…you don't remember, do you?…" he looks me in the eyes.

Remember what? I look at my hands…the blush on his face…the embarrassing tone in his voice.

"There is something your not telling me isn't there?…" I say almost breathlessly.

**Sonic's POV**

I look back at him, tears starting to bubble in my eyes. "Long story."

"I want to know."

I sigh, and sit down. I bury my face in my knees. I look back up at him, and he's still staring at me, with a stern expression.

I sigh. There's no hiding things from him, it seems. I guess this would come up eventually.

"Well, let me start by saying the reason you were in that pod was because you were dead. You fell to Mobius after a battle with your prototype in space. You're…" I blush. "…The Ultimate Lifeform. And apparently there was a first attempt at what you are now."

He is silent, taking it in.

"…And, we met when you were first released by Eggman. You may have noticed we look kinda similar in the face. Because of that, the idiot government and the rest of this world got us confused. You were helping Eggman collect something that involved breaking into a few places. I was blamed for it since you were new, and no one knew of your existence. Because of this, the fact that my image was stained, I was angry, and resented you. But looking back it wasn't really your fault. Eggman promised you answers. You had no choice."

He still remains silent, listening carefully.

I continue. "Well, because of that conflict, we clashed a couple of times. Our fights always were interrupted, with no clear winner."

I take a deep breath, and pause for a moment.

"At one point, me and my friends tried to trick Eggman, but it turned out to be us who got tricked. He locked me in a pod rigged with explosives, and sent me into space. Death was certain. But…I noticed that in previous fights you could induce a strange teleporting move called Chaos Control. I tried it, and apparently it turns out I can do it too. Inadvertently, you saved my life. I teleported elsewhere on the ARK, and was just fine, but everyone thought I was dead. However, I had a job to do, and decided to continue it. I'd let the others know I was okay later. Eggman told you I was still around, and we had a final confrontation. I was tired from using Chaos Control, so you had the upper hand. You about had me when…" I look down, and my voice drops to a low level. "…You felt bad, or something…and…you kissed me." I don't look at him out of embarrassment. "You let me continue my mission and I succeeded. Then, some other things happened, to make this a shorter story, and basically the whole world was in danger. That prototype attached itself to the colony and started pulling it to Mobius to try and off the world. I originally went to stop it by myself…but you suddenly appeared next to me…and helped me…but the knock back of the prototype's death sent you into the atmosphere…and you died…" I finally look at him, with a deep blush on my face. "You sacrificed everything for the people of Mobius, and my friends… and me…and…ever since then…" I look away and whisper.

"…I've been in love with you."

**Shadow's POV**

My breath catches in my chest. Love? That can't be right.

"Excuse me, that was difficult for me to hear…" I lie.

He sighs and shakes his head. "Now, Shadow…I kinda know ya better than you do right now. You're the Ultimate Lifeform. I know you heard me…"

I smile, clever.

Was that really me who did all of those things? Am I really that selfless? Well…I guess I'm not myself anymore.

The ARK?…what is that? Prototype…Ultimate Lifeform…so many questions. He is the only one that has answers, this time. Instead of Dr. Eggman.

"Who is Maria? What is the Prototype? What is the ARK? Why am I the Ultimate Lifeform? What makes me so? Who made me so?" I grin at him, exposing my fangs. If he loves me, maybe I can play on that emotion to my advantage. To figure out who I am.

Maybe his words with bless me with another flashback. As painful they are…I need them. And after all…I am rather interested in what my feelings for him were…and where I planned on taking them…

"Answer my questions, Sonikku…" The words come out lowly in a seductive growl.

**Sonic's POV**

Warmth creeps across my face, and a strange feeling burns in the pit of my stomach. I ignore it for now, however, and look at him.

"Maria was the granddaughter of Gerald Robotnik…your creator. She was killed by a GUN agent, who is our government. I know she was close to you. You told me so. I'm really sorry that you had to experience that. The Prototype I was speaking of was called the Biolizard. I don't really know much about it in particular, but I do know that it was the Prototype of you, The Ultimate Lifeform. You fought it to distract it while one of my friends, Knuckles, and me tried to stop the Space Colony from falling to Mobius. The Space Colony ARK is a colony in space that orbits Mobius. It was originally disguised as an asteroid until Eggman used a laser inside called the Eclipse Cannon to blow up half of the moon." I look down. "Heh, it's funny…whenever I look at that moon it always reminds me of you…"

**Shadow's POV**

Maria…maybe that is why my flashback was so painful…it brought back fifty years of bad memories in a matter of seconds.

The Ultimate Lifeform…I could get used to that.

"I guess this whole 'Ultimate Lifeform' stuff makes me pretty important on this planet, right?" I scoff and grin.

"Well, yes, you're a world-renowned hero thanks to what we did." he says with a hint of deceit.

"This whole world, Mobius you called it, is in our debt. We saved their asses and I killed myself in the process. Remind me why it is that they haven't shown any thanks to me? No statue in Station Square?" I chuckle under my breath, "How about you? What have they done for you?" I ask, interested.

Sonic's POV

I stare at him, and blink. This isn't the Shadow I remember.

"Um, they haven't done anything for me. And I haven't asked them to. The fact that these people are happy is good enough for me. Besides, even if I wanted something like that, they wouldn't give it. Humans are a stingy people." I laugh a little. "But, nah, I've never really been interested in praise. In fact, it kinda makes me feel weird when I'm complemented…" I shrug.

"Hmph. I think I can understand that." he says, nodding. "But that isn't my style."

I cross my arms, irritated. "You don't even know what your style is! You've been encapsulated for three freakin' years! Y'know, I didn't have to save you, but I did, because I love you. And what have I gotten for it? Any thanks? No! Just questions. And you're not even yourself anymore…"

**Shadow's POV**

I growl lowly underneath my breath, targeting my eyes towards his. He looks angry, but he knows that he has set me off.

"But you did save me! Because you're soft! You have let these people, and so called 'friends' of yours, walk all over you for years! And for what? Well I am not you, no matter what this stupid fucking government or these people think of us! I will not be the door matt for this planet any longer…I have sacrificed far too much for these useless excuses for living beings…I have lost my only true love for them, my only family for them, my LIFE for them!" I growl, and it echoes through the open air. "These people don't DESERVE me! And neither do you! You are the one that set me free and now you have to accept the consequences for your poorly thought out actions!" I spit at his feet and smile, exposing my fangs.

Chaos Control.

And I am gone.

**Sonic's POV**

I stare at the spot where he once stood.

His words burn in my mind.

My heart hurts.

But I'm angry. I turn and kick my foot against the cave wall. Pain shoots up my leg, but I'm far too pissed to particularly care.

This is what I get for finally falling in love with someone.

Hot tears are streaming down my face. I hate crying. I hate myself so much right now. I almost hate Shadow.

Now I've gotta protect Mobius from whatever Shadow plans to do. It's like I'm right back to square one. It's almost like he was never here.

In a way, he wasn't.


End file.
